The Lebombo Mountains, also called Lubombo Mountains, Rivombo Mountains (), are an , narrow

range Range may refer to: Geography * Range (geographic), a chain of hills or mountains; a somewhat linear, complex mountainous or hilly area (cordillera, sierra) ** Mountain range, a group of mountains bordered by lowlands * Range, a term used to i ...

of mountains in

Southern Africa Southern Africa is the southernmost region of Africa. No definition is agreed upon, but some groupings include the United Nations geoscheme for Africa, United Nations geoscheme, the intergovernmental Southern African Development Community, and ...

. They stretch from

Hluhluwe Hluhluwe ( ; ) is a small town in northern KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It is situated between iSimangaliso Wetland Park and Hluhluwe–iMfolozi Park on the banks of the Hluhluwe River The Hluhluwe River originates in the Hluhluwe Game Reser ...

KwaZulu-Natal KwaZulu-Natal (, also referred to as KZN) is a Provinces of South Africa, province of South Africa that was created in 1994 when the government merged the Zulu people, Zulu bantustan of KwaZulu ("Place of the Zulu" in Zulu language, Zulu) and ...

in the south to Punda Maria in the

Limpopo Province Limpopo () is the northernmost province of South Africa. It is named after the Limpopo River, which forms the province's western and northern borders. The term Limpopo is derived from Rivombo (Livombo/Lebombo), a group of Tsonga settlers ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

in the north. Parts of the mountain range are also found in

Mozambique Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique, is a country located in Southeast Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west, and Eswatini and South Afr ...

and

Eswatini Eswatini, formally the Kingdom of Eswatini, also known by its former official names Swaziland and the Kingdom of Swaziland, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. It is bordered by South Africa on all sides except the northeast, where i ...

Description

Geologically, the range is considered a

monocline A monocline (or, rarely, a monoform) is a step-like fold in rock strata consisting of a zone of steeper dip within an otherwise horizontal or gently dipping sequence. Formation Monoclines may be formed in several different ways (see diagram) ...

; part of a rifted volcanic margin. The Lebombo monocline was aligned with the Explora Escarpment off-shore

Dronning Maud Land Queen Maud Land () is a roughly region of Antarctica claimed by Norway as a dependent territory. It borders the claimed British Antarctic Territory 20° west, specifically the Caird Coast, Coats Land on the West, and the Australian Antarct ...

Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean (also known as the Antarctic Ocean), it contains the geographic South Pole. ...

, before the break-up of

Gondwana Gondwana ( ; ) was a large landmass, sometimes referred to as a supercontinent. The remnants of Gondwana make up around two-thirds of today's continental area, including South America, Africa, Antarctica, Australia (continent), Australia, Zea ...

. The Lebombo monocline strikes N-S and dips to the east. It is composed of a sequence of

Jurassic The Jurassic ( ) is a Geological period, geologic period and System (stratigraphy), stratigraphic system that spanned from the end of the Triassic Period million years ago (Mya) to the beginning of the Cretaceous Period, approximately 143.1 Mya. ...

age

volcanic rock Volcanic rocks (often shortened to volcanics in scientific contexts) are rocks formed from lava erupted from a volcano. Like all rock types, the concept of volcanic rock is artificial, and in nature volcanic rocks grade into hypabyssal and me ...

, both

basaltic Basalt (; ) is an aphanitic (fine-grained) extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of low-viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron ( mafic lava) exposed at or very near the surface of a rocky planet or moon. More than 90% ...

lava Lava is molten or partially molten rock (magma) that has been expelled from the interior of a terrestrial planet (such as Earth) or a Natural satellite, moon onto its surface. Lava may be erupted at a volcano or through a Fissure vent, fractu ...

s and

rhyolitic Rhyolite ( ) is the most silica-rich of volcanic rocks. It is generally glassy or fine-grained (aphanitic) in texture, but may be porphyritic, containing larger mineral crystals ( phenocrysts) in an otherwise fine-grained groundmass. The miner ...

flows and

tuff Tuff is a type of rock made of volcanic ash ejected from a vent during a volcanic eruption. Following ejection and deposition, the ash is lithified into a solid rock. Rock that contains greater than 75% ash is considered tuff, while rock co ...

s. The sequence rests on essentially horizontal

Karoo Supergroup The Karoo Supergroup is the most widespread stratigraphic unit in Africa south of the Kalahari Desert. The supergroup consists of a sequence of units, mostly of nonmarine origin, deposited between the Late Carboniferous and Early Jurassic, a per ...

sedimentary rock Sedimentary rocks are types of rock (geology), rock formed by the cementation (geology), cementation of sediments—i.e. particles made of minerals (geological detritus) or organic matter (biological detritus)—that have been accumulated or de ...

s of the Kalahari Craton to the west and is overlain by

Cretaceous The Cretaceous ( ) is a geological period that lasted from about 143.1 to 66 mya (unit), million years ago (Mya). It is the third and final period of the Mesozoic Era (geology), Era, as well as the longest. At around 77.1 million years, it is the ...

to recent sediments to the east. The alternating resistant rhyolite and easily eroded basalts produce a series of parallel sharp

cuesta A cuesta () is a hill or ridge with a gentle slope on one side, and a steep slope on the other. In geology, the term is more specifically applied to a ridge where a harder sedimentary rock overlies a softer layer, the whole being tilted somew ...

ridges separated by savanna plains. The range is relatively low with heights between and less than . The highest peak is the

Mount Mananga Mount is often used as part of the name of specific mountains, e.g. Mount Everest. Mount or Mounts may also refer to: Places * Mount, Cornwall, a village in Warleggan parish, England * Mount, Perranzabuloe, a hamlet in Perranzabuloe parish, ...

. The Longwe is the highest point in the Lebombo Range north of the

Letaba River The Letaba River (), also known as Leţaba, Lehlaba or Ritavi, is a river located in eastern Limpopo Province, South Africa. It is one of the most important tributaries of the Olifants River. Course It starts at the confluence of the Groot Leta ...

.Echo System
/ref> The mountains dominate

Lubombo District Lubombo is a region of Eswatini, located in the east of the country. It has an area of 5,849.11 km2 and a population of 212,531 (2017). Its administrative center is Siteki. It borders all three other regions: Hhohho to the north, Manzini ...

in Eswatini. Towns in the area include

Siteki Siteki is a town in eastern Eswatini, lying west of the Lebombo Mountains The Lebombo Mountains, also called Lubombo Mountains, Rivombo Mountains (), are an , narrow range of mountains in Southern Africa. They stretch from Hluhluwe in KwaZulu ...

in the centre,

Lubhuku Lubhuku is a village in eastern Eswatini in Lubombo Region. It lies about 30 kilometres west of Siteki and 60 kilometres north of Big Bend and Mayaluka on the western side of the Lubombo Mountains The Lebombo Mountains, also called Lubombo Mou ...

in the west and Mayaluka and Big Bend in the south with the Lusutfu River running past the southern region of the mountain range. At the north lie the towns of Simunye, Tambankulu and

Namaacha Namaacha or Naamacha is a town in southern Mozambique, lying 80 kilometers west of Maputo on the border with Eswatini. It is located in the Lebombos area. It is known for its Colonialism, colonial Church (building), church and for its waterfall. ...

, and the Mlawula Nature Reserve as well as the

Mbuluzi River The Mbuluzi River (also known as the iMbuluzi or Umbeluzi) is one of the main rivers of Eswatini, and an important river in Mozambique. On the boundary of these countries, the Mbuluzi cuts through the Lebombo Range, before entering the Mozambic ...

. A number of rivers, including the Pongola,

Mkuze Mkuze, also named Mkhuze or uMkhuze is a small town in Northern KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It is located approximately 350 km from the city of Durban. It is along the N2 road en route to Johannesburg, Eswatini and Mozambique; between the ...

, and Lusutfu, cross the mountains from west to east. The Lebombo Mountains are home to the Thonga people who are part of the Tsonga ethnic group, it straddles from North KwaZulu-Natal (Amathongaland) to Kruger National Park in Limpopo Province with the same name origin of the Lebombo/Rivombo clan.

Protected areas

Kruger National Park Kruger National Park () is a national park in South Africa covering an area of in the provinces of Limpopo and Mpumalanga in the country's northeast. It extends from north to south and from east to west. The administrative headquarters are i ...

and

Phongolo Nature Reserve Phongolo Nature Reserve is an Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife reserve in Maputaland, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. The reserve is 10,485 ha in extent. The reserve is a co-operative conservation project between private landowners, tribal communities and go ...

protect part of the range.

References

External links

Preliminary overview of mountains in South Africa
Mountain ranges of South Africa Mountain ranges of Mozambique Mountains of Eswatini Lubombo Region Mozambique–South Africa border Eswatini–Mozambique border Landforms of KwaZulu-Natal Mountain ranges of Limpopo {{Swaziland-geo-stub

Description

Protected areas

See also

References

External links